Professor Layton and the Third Heir
by MadMoomin
Summary: After over three years of puzzle solving and crime investigating, Layton once again comes face to face with his nemesis Jean Descole. On this puzzling adventure the two must work together and return to the place they once called home to unlock the mystery of the Bronev treasure. What secrets will be unveiled in the small town of St Colton? (Spoilers for just about everything!)
1. Chapter 1: A Letter for Layton

**Hello everyone I'm back! Here is my first major adventure so enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything, this is the work of fiction not fact and all the plot twists are my personal theories, I cannot prove them.**

Chapter 1: A letter for Layton

It was a warm spring morning in London that day, nothing special. The Layton household was silent as it was most mornings, the chatter always began when Luke turned up, which he did most days now, it was understandable of course, he had said it himself that he wanted to spend as much time as possible with the professor and Flora before the move, and they also wanted to see him, but even so, the professor enjoyed these quiet moments in which he and Flora spent reading, however, her book choice for today had both interested and baffled him.

"Good morning, Flora." she awoke from her daydream with a start as if it was taking her a moment to separate reality and imagination.

"Oh, good morning professor!" she said with a smile, her apple shaped birth mark appearing. He smiled back, and then got straight to the point.

"Excuse my curiosity, but what is that you are reading?"

"Oh, this? Miss Green lent it to me," Flora replied, closing the book and handing it over. "It's about all sorts of machines and how they're made, it's quite interesting actually."

"Ah, Miss Green, your maths teacher if I'm not mistaken." He flipped through the book and passed it back to Flora. "She says you're quite the star at the subject."

"Well I, I wouldn't say that." said Flora, trying to stop herself from blushing but to no avail, the professor laughed.

"Ha ha, come now, there is nothing wrong with accepting praise." No sooner had he said it when the front door opened.

"Hello!" came the friendly and jolly voice that could belong to none other than Luke Triton.

That morning and afternoon went on like any other, when the letters were collected in Layton would tend to the important business while Luke and Flora solved any puzzles that had been sent, Luke sometimes wondered why people bothered sending them.

"How do they know we'll answer them?" he once asked. "Any other detective would say it was a waste of their time!"

"Luke, my boy, it is the duty of every gentleman to help those in need,"was the professors reply. "Besides, puzzles open and expand the mind, it will be good for you and Flora to try and solve as many as possible."

"If you say so, professor." was all Luke would say in return. On this particular day, Luke and Flora had come across one of the real stumpers, no matter what way they looked at it they could see no solution.

"I don't understand professor," Luke groaned in misery. "It's impossible!" The professor laughed.

"Luke, I'm sure I have told you before," he said as he opened his next letter. "No puzzle is without an ans-..." Luke and Flora turned to see what had caused the sudden pause in his sentence, what had moments ago been a friendly grin on the professor's face was now a solemn frown.

"W-what is it Professor?" asked Luke.

"What? Oh, it's nothing..." said the professor standing up and putting the letter in his coat pocket, then left the room. Luke and Flora gave each other a worried look, whatever it was, it was definitely not nothing.


	2. Chapter 2: The Note

**Sorry this isn't a very exciting chapter but still I hope you enjoy! **

Chapter 2: The Note

Luke was gasping for air by the time he had reached the professors house. It had been nearly a week since the letter that had unnerved the professor had arrived, but earlier that morning Luke had received a message from the professor telling him to pack for a few days away and to meet at his home at 11:00 sharp. It had taken Luke about an hour to convince his dad to let him go, with the move coming up and all, so by the time he had left the house it was already 11:05, apart from one bus he had run the rest of the way, luckily they were just finishing packing the Layton-mobile.

"Oh, Luke! You're here!" said Flora, waving as he arrived,

"Yeah, *huff huff* sorry I'm *huff* late." Luke gasped, bent double with exhaustion. "Parents *huff* were reluctant *huff* to let me come."

"Oh, why was that?" Flora asked, Luke had now caught his breath and was standing upright.

"I think they just don't want anything to happen to me just as we're about to move, which is daft really since nothing ever has, well…" He went a bit red. "At least, I've always come back in one piece!"

Flora could only giggle at this comment, she had been told the stories of the adventures Luke and the professor had before they met her, including the one where they gave their lives to save humanity but then somehow came back to life, this tale she doubted was a hundred percent true.

"They shouldn't have worried, I don't think we're doing anything dangerous in this case" Flora reassured him.

"Oh, has the professor told you what it is yet?" Luke asked, he was really desperate to know way he had run all that way, but Flora only frowned.

"No, he hasn't, I worked it out really" Luke looked interested.

"How did you do that?" Flora checked no one was there, as if she was about to let him into some huge secret. She almost whispered as she spoke.

"You know in the Pandora's box and 10 years in the future investigations the professor wanted me to stay behind just in case there was any danger, well he had no objection to me coming this time so.."

"Ah" said Luke finally catching on, just then the professor came out of the house with two suitcases. He looked much perkier than he had in the last few days, but he always had this excited energy when he was given a new case.

"Ah, Luke, it's good to see you." He helped Luke with his bag, but just as they were going to leave he turned to Flora. "It's going to be a long drive, perhaps you should bring that book that your teacher gave you to read on the way over."

"Oh, yes, I'll go and get it now." and with that she rushed back inside. As soon as she left the professor handed a note to Luke.

"Hu?" he looked up at the professor who just indicated the note, so he read it.

_When we arrive at our destination we are going to meet up with an old friend. He wants to keep the identity we know him by a secret, I know you are going to disapprove, but we have no choice, I do not want Flora to know about his identity as it will distress her, I am sorry about this, but all your questions will be answered when we get there._

"Wha..." Luke just couldn't make sense of it, who was it? Why can't Flora know? Why did the professor think he would disapprove? Luke sighed, since questions were obviously unanswerable, he would just have to go along with it for now. Flora came out of the house with her book, Luke quickly shoved the note in his pocket.

"Are we ready then" said Flora, looking as happy Luke had ever seen her.

"Of course" said the professor holding the door of the Layton-mobile open for her, then he and Luke got in the front seats and set off, out of London to solve a new case, which, Luke realized, would be his last as professor Layton's apprentice.


	3. Chapter 3: The Puzzling Will

**Couple of notes before we start the chapter. Firstly in case anyone is confused this is set after Lost/Unwound Future and before Luke leaves the country. Secondly I don't think the name of the town Layton and Descole were born in is ever named, correct me if I'm wrong. Thirdly I'M SORRY I'M REALLY BAD AT SURPRISES!**

Chapter 3: The Puzzling Will

It had been nearly an hour since they had left London, not a word was spoken in that time and Flora was buried in her book. Images of treasure, crime and magic were dancing around Luke's head as he wondered what this investigation could be, and what adventures lay ahead of them. Flora closed her book and gave a yawn, she rubbed her eyes and took in her surroundings.

"Are we nearly there?"

"Soon," the professor replied "in fact, I should probably explain the situation before we arrive."

"About time too!" Luke sighed with relief "I was only dying of curiosity here!"

"Ha ha! Very well," said the professor as they passed some fields, they were in the countryside now. "You two may have noticed that a few days ago I received a letter that somewhat, disturbed me."

"Oh" Luke was looking very interested now, "has this got anything to do that?" the letter had been prying on his mind since it arrived and he was desperate to know what it could be.

"Very much so," the professor replied "that letter informed me that Leon Bronev, my biological father, has recently died." this produced a gasp from both of the listeners.

"Huh?!" Luke exclaimed, he guessed it made sense, even though the professor had disowned his father, it was still depressing news.

"The letter also told me that his will has been found, it was at this point that I stopped reading, as I wanted nothing to do with it." The professor's face had return to its solemn frown as he said this. "However, I received a very urgent letter this morning from the Mayor of St Colton, the town that I spent the first few years of my life in, and where the Bronev household can be found. The mayor seemed rather upset that I had not replied to his first letter, which I did not recall arriving. It turned out that the will was actually a request; I re-read it and discovered that the will read 'I give the Bronev family treasure to the heirs of the Bronev bloodline', this 'treasure' however, had never been heard of, Leon Bronev had had no money or belongings of his own since his recruitment with Targent. But something else was on also in the Mayor's letter this morning; ever since the will was found, strange uniformed men had started appearing in the town. And even more worrying, James Downing, a well known mathematician who lives in St Colton, went missing two days ago, this is all I know at the moment, but I am sure the mayor will fill in all the blanks when we get there".

"Professor," Luke couldn't hold the question back any longer, "do you think these 'uniformed men'

could be Targent? I thought they were gone forever!"

"They certainly fit the same description," the professor replied, "but as you say, their work was

ended over three years ago now, either way, we can't make any assumptions until we see them for ourselves"

"I suppose you're right" said Luke, slumping in his seat.

"Oh!" Flora bolted upright and looked out of the window, "is that it?" Luke was also looking out of

the window now. As they were driving down a hill they could now see a large body of buildings to

the left of them.

"It would seem so." said the professor, "all right, get ready to make a move you two."


	4. Chapter 4: The Reunion

**Sorry about the lack of updates, I was away for a few days. As a result I am uploading TWO CHAPTERS! In this chapter we meet the mysterious 'old friend' , who could it be? (if you can't guess then you obviously didn't read the summary!)**

Chapter 4: The Reunion

St Colton was a busy place, the market was full of stalls selling everything from food to sports

equipment. People were rushing here and there doing their daily shop, women were gossiping and children were chasing each other around stalls. Having spent most of her life in a village inhabited by only robots, Flora always loved the atmosphere of crowded places, but she never strayed too far from the professor and Luke, last time she had lost them in an unfamiliar place she got kidnapped.

"Professor!" cried Luke, almost unheard above the din. "There's a sigh leading to the town hall!"

"Well done, Luke," the professor replied. "However, before we see the Mayor, we are going to find

someone who is also on this case, so we must head for the park."Ah, thought Luke, the 'old friend'.

The park was round with a small fence going all the way around it, there were a couple of play areas where children were dangling of the climbing frames and squealing down slides, there were tennis courts and bowling greens that were very well tended. Trees of all shapes and sizes shaded areas where picnickers settled down for lunch, making Luke realise he was hungry. Gardeners trimmed bushes and planted summer flowers, as it had been a very warm spring. As they arrived at the centre of the park they saw a large willow tree in the middle of a round lawn surrounded by a concrete path, pansies grew in perfect groups around the tree.

"He should be here soon." The professor informed the two, looking at a clock inside a small café to the left of the path they had just come from.

For the next five minutes Flora and the professor sat on one of the cafes outdoor tables drinking tea while Luke chatted with some exotic birds in cages, he had almost forgotten about the mystery assistant when the professor said "Ah, there he is."

The man who was walking towards them was tall, wore a dark grey suit and a red tie, red rectangular glasses and had a rather odd hair style. At first Luke didn't recognise him, then his mouth dropped open and his eyes grew wide with shock. What was he thinking? What was the professor thinking!

"D-d-desc..." Luke stammered, the professor had to interrupt him before he gave it away.

"Flora, may I introduce you to Professor Desmond Sycamore."

"Professor Layton," Sycamore smiled and held his hand. "It is a pleasure to be working with you

again." The professor hesitated for a moment, and then shook the hand somewhat stiffly.

"The pleasure is all mine." He replied.

Sycamore turned to Luke and offered him a hand "And Luke Triton." Luke wanted to refuse, he saw the professor give him a nervous look, one that pleaded for his cooperation. Luke sighed and shook Sycamore's hand, but made a point of glaring at him as he did. Sycamore gave Luke an irritating smile. "Haven't changed have you?"

Ouch.

"Neither have you." Luke spat the words out, he couldn't believe the professor had enlisted the help of this criminal.

"And who is this?" Asked Sycamore indicating Flora.

"Oh! I'm Flora Reinhold." she replied, merrily shaking his hand.

"My adopted daughter." The professor added. Flora noticed Luke's sour expression, he obviously had a problem with this man, she decided not to worry about it as Luke was not a very forgiving person and it was probably nothing major.

"Right," said Sycamore suddenly. "We should probably start heading for the town hall."

"I'll lead the way." Luke said coldly, then, with nose in the air, set off in the direction they came.

The others followed, Sycamore saying quietly, and sarcastically, to himself "Well, this is going to be fun with him around".


	5. Chapter 5: A Meeting with the Mayor

**Welcome back! this is a bit of a looooong chapter but hopefully not to boring! Enjoy!**

Chapter 5: A Meeting with the Mayor

Luke dunked his fourth biscuit in his tea and chewed it nervously. The moment the group arrived

at the town hall the professor had been recognised and all four of them were ushered in to a

room, a young lady had told them that the Mayor was in a meeting but had be notified of their

arrival and would join them shortly. The professor and Luke helped themselves to the tea and

biscuits laid out for them, Flora was examining a painting, trying to work out what it meant, and

Sycamore was looking out of the window with the original film-style concerned detective look on his face. Luke shuddered, even looking at this man made his skin crawl, he still was confused as to why the professor was allowing him to help them, he knew all too well that the "identity we know him by" that the professor mentioned in his note was Jean Descole, a man who was prepared to sacrifice any number of lives to get his grubby hands on his goal. He had nearly revealed this to Flora when they first met Sycamore in the park, the professor had only interrupted him just in time. However, as Desmond Sycamore he was a very different person, polite, smart, determined, he's a good actor, I'll give him that, thought Luke, (nibbling what was probably his seventh biscuit) but I'm not falling for it this time,I'll never fall for it again.

The door opened slowly as a short, round man with a rather red face waddled in, the professor

stood up instantly, "Ah! Mayor Colton" he held out his hand and gave a friendly smile. "It is an

honour."

"Professor Layton!" The Mayor said loudly, his voice full of relief, he clasped the professor's hand in both of his own and shook it vigorously. "You've come at last!"

The professor straightened his hat. "Ah, yes, I apologise for not replying to your first letter, I'm afraid it got misplaced and I did not read it until I received your second one this morning." Luke and Flora both knew this wasn't true, but the professor obviously didn't feel the need to go into the details.

The mayor gave a jolly laugh. "Think nothing of it, I heard that you always reply to your letters, I should have known there was a problem."

Sycamore walked over, gently brushing past Luke's shoulder, then Layton wasn't looking, Luke brushed off his sleeve and wiped his hand on his shorts.

"Professor Desmond Sycamore, I am accompanying Professor Layton on this case." The Mayor gave a huge smile and held out his hand, Sycamore reluctantly took it and received the same earthquake of hand shake as the professor, leaving his glasses slightly askew. It was all Luke could do not to snigger, but the urge was short lived.

"And you must be the professor's apprentice!" the Mayor exclaimed, offering Luke his hand, Luke forced a smile.

"Luke Triton, happy to of service." He replied slowly taking the hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I don't want to take up to much of your time, so I'll make this quick" said the Mayor sitting down

and indicating the others to follow suit. Luke straightened his cap and took a quick glance over at

Sycamore, expecting to see him smirking or something as a way of saying 'that will teach you',

but instead he was already sat down and was polishing his glasses with a sensible and mature

expression.

Sensible and mature.

Sensible and Mature

SENSIBLE AND MATURE!

Luke was already in a bad mood when they came into the town hall, he was practically fuming now. How long was he going to keep up the act this time, eh? Was he gonna stick it out until the end and then whisk the Bronev treasure from beneath their noses? Or will he not last that long and rip the town to shreds with robots while wearing that stupid mask and cape?! He sat down and poured himself another cup of tea in the hope that it would calm him down.

"Right, let's get started..." Said the Mayor in a slightly louder than average voice, however they

didn't start, instead there was an awkward silence, Luke suddenly realised this was because Flora, who had been staring at the painting the whole time, had not even acknowledged the Mayor entrance and obviously not heard him trying to catch her attention just now, Luke couldn't even see what it was that was so mesmerizing about it, it was just a painting of a... a... whatever it was.

"Flora..." The professor said gently, she snapped out of hypnotism and saw the scene, she guessed what must have happened, she went extremely red and pulled a face somewhere between bursting into tears and laughing. Admittedly amused by her reaction, the professor smiled. Still red in the face, Flora sat down looking at her lap. Luke caught Sycamore looking at Flora in an odd way, he seemed puzzled and concerned at the same time, he saw Luke watching and turned away but had trouble changing his expression. Acting, remember that, Luke told himself, it's all acting just to get you off guard.

"So, are you a fan of art?" Flora looked up as the Mayor said this.

"Um, no, not really, that piece is just, interesting." The Mayor laughed so hard his belly shook,

"Everyone says that!" He replied, "And every time I tell them, what you mean is that it's down right depressing! I find it depressing, but I can't get rid of it because my great-grandfather, the founder of the town, brought it over from America and was rather fond of it, anyway, I'm getting off the point." The Mayor struck Luke as one of those people that children get along with because they don't talk to them in a patronising way, nor do they treat them like adults, he guessed the Mayor must have children of his own as those kind of people usually do.

"Now," The Mayor's face is solemn now and his voice serious. "There is a part of this case I didn't include in my letter as I thought it would be better discussed in person. The family who are currently living in the house that recently belonged to the Bronevs have had to temporarily move out of their home because... because..." His face fell. "They say that Leon Bronev's ghost is haunting the house." This produced a mixture of emotion on the faces of the four, Flora had a wild fear in her eyes, Luke was shocked, with wide eyes and an open mouth, both the professors were deep in thought, very interested in what they had just heard. "As you can imagine, many people confirmed that this was true before they felt the need to move out of their home, it is showing no sign of going away, so I thought I would need your help."

"This all sounds rather, interesting," said Layton "But right now I am more concerned about the James Downing investigation, could you please fill us in on that?"

"Oh! You don't need to worry about that now." said the Mayor as if he was glad to finally be giving

good news.

"What?!" Luke sat up straight "Has he come back?"

"Sadly, no," the Mayor. "However it turns out that the 'uniformed men' I mentioned were actually

undercover police investigating the case, the letter informing me about this must have been lost in the post."

"Not really 'undercover' if everyone's noticing them." Luke said, folding his arms.

The Mayor sighed "Yes I thought that, but the police only employ clever people, whatever they're

doing it's probably too complex for my mind, and hopefully the mind of the criminal." He looked at

his watch and stood up. "I am afraid I have an appointment soon and will have to leave you, I would be grateful if you could look into this ghost matter for me."

"But of course." The professor replied, standing up and shaking the Mayor's hand, he was much

gentler this time, much less energetic.

"Thank you, I have also arranged for you to stay in the Duke's Arms Hotel near Lavender Park. The Walkers, the family who have been tormented by this 'ghost' are also there and are only too happy to be questioned, now if you'll excuse me." Just as he was walking through the door he added "Oh, and do come back to ask questions about the town if you need to, I can tell almost everything about its history" and with that, he was gone.

"Well" said Sycamore. "We had better head off to the hotel".

**OOOOOOH! Ghosts! By the way the painting is nothing to do with the investigation, I just wanted to picture a very embarrassed Flora! **


	6. Chapter 6: The Duke's Arms Hotel

Chapter 6: The Duke's Arms Hotel

On the way over to the hotel they passed the car park where they had left the Layton-mobile, as they walked Flora realised that she had left her book on the back seat.

"Um, professor."

"Hmm?"

"I left my book," she indicated the car park. "Can I go and get it? I'll be really quick." The professor

smiled and took his car keys out of his coat pocket.

"Of course." He replied, handing them over, Flora took them and jogged over to the Layton-mobile. The others watched her go.

"So, who is she?" Sycamore asked in an almost whisper, the professor gave him a sideways glance, Luke couldn't read his expression, he could only hope this question had aroused suspicion.

"The only child of Baron Augustus Reinhold and his wife," he answered. "They both died while Flora was still in her childhood."

"Not that it's any of your business." Luke mumbled, he was staring at his feet; he feared that if he

looked at Sycamore one more time then he would explode.

"Luke, please." said the professor sternly.

Flora unlocked the Layton-mobile and found that her book had fallen off the seat, she picked it

up and noticed a small, scrunched up piece of paper next it, she knew that the professor liked to

keep his precious car tidy, so she decided to throw it out for him. However, when she picked it up she noticed it had writing on it, the professor's hand writing to be exact. She unfolded it up and read it carefully. She placed it in-between two pages in her book, locked up the Layton-mobile and got back to the others before they got suspicious. While they were walking Flora was thinking about what it could mean, the professor had cleared the Layton-mobile out the day before so it had to have been very recent. Luke, the professor and herself were the only ones traveling in the Layton-mobile, and since she had not received it, the note must have been addressed to Luke. It was not possible that the professor meant for her to find it, for one, he did not know she would forget her book, and two, it mentioned that she shouldn't know about it. Also, Luke obviously did disapprove of professor Sycamore, who was with no doubt the man referred to in the note. The part that was prying on her mind most of all was the 'identity we know him by', which meant that Sycamore was not who he said he was, the only clues she had were 'old friend', so someone they had met before, and that Flora distrusted them. She still had no idea who it was, but she had made a pretty good guess.

When they arrived at the Duke's Arms Hotel, Flora, Luke and the professor waited in the lobby while Sycamore checked them in. The Mayor, as promised, had arranged four small bedrooms for them in advance, but before taking their luggage to the rooms they had some lunch in hotel's restaurant. After the events of the day so far, Luke had a feeling he would not be hungry for a long time afterwards, but when the sausages, eggs and bacon were placed in front him he quickly changed his mind. They climbed a set of stairs and found there rooms.

"Here we are!" Sycamore indicated the four wooden doors in a row, "Number 23, 24, 25, and 26." Each member of the party took to a room. After unpacking, Flora found the others gathered in professor Layton's room.

"The Walkers are downstairs, I suggest we pay them a visit as soon as possible," stated an anxious looking Sycamore, pacing back and forth across the room. "However we don't want to make them feel crowded, only one or two of us should go."

"Perhaps Luke and I should investigate." the professor offered, he was sat in a chair with a book on his lap which he had been reading before the others arrived.

"Hmm, yes, that seems wise." was all Sycamore had to say, the professor turned to Luke.

"If you're ready we may as well go now." the professor suggested. Luke got up from his chair.

"I'm ready professor!" he said cheerily, the two got up and headed out of the room, just before they left the professor turned to Flora.

"We may be about half an hour," he said, worriedly. "Will you be alright?" Flora smiled in return, she had an extreme fear of being alone but was slowly getting over it.

"I'll be fine." She assured him. The professor nodded and let Flora and Sycamore return to their

rooms before locking the door of his own. He and Luke headed down the stairs, when they reached the ground floor the professor stopped.

"Luke..." his voice had a very stern tone to it. "I think this is as good a time as any to have a

conversation about Sycamore..." Luke cringed, he had been expecting this. After all, his

acting skills had failed him quite badly.

"I... I just don't get it." Luke said, staring at the floor. "After everything he's done... And you're

prepared to trust him?"

"I can assure you, one thing I am not ready to do is to place any trust in this man." the

professor replied as he started walking again. "I can understand that this all seems rather confusing, so allow me to explain. This morning, as well as receiving the Mayor's letter, I was also sent one from Professor Sycamore requiring our help on the investigation, he made some valid points, such as whatever we may find here is as much his as it is mine. He also mentioned that if I declined his offer he has, other methods, of retrieving it."

"So... he threatened you?!" Luke was truly shocked.

"The letter itself was not written in a threatening sense," said the professor, stopping to check a sign. "But he gave the impression that he has back-up if needed, and this is the reason I needed to keep Sycamore's past a secret from Flora, this information would, unnerve her to say the least." He stopped again, this time in front of a door. "Ah, here are." he said, knocking on the door.

As soon as the professor and Luke had left, Flora returned to her room and fell onto her bed,

giggling. It had been a long time since she had been somewhere so posh, and she was enjoying it. She sat up and reached for her book, she flipped it open and out fell the note, this reminded her that whoever Sycamore really was, he was not to be trusted. Then it occurred to her, if this person was who she thought he was, then this would be a perfect opportunity to kidnap her again, on the other hand, if the professor knew who he was then he wouldn't leave her alone with him if he thought something bad could happen, would he? But what if the professor thought it was someone else, but it actually was who Flora thought it was! She decided to stop thinking about it as it was making her head spin. A nearby door opened and closed again, and footsteps passed her own room. Being naturally inquisitive, Flora pushed her door open slightly and peeked through the gap, she instantly flung the door open and stepped out into the hallway.

"Where are you going?" she called, Sycamore stopped for a moment, then carried on walking as if he hadn't heard her, Flora watched him disappear down the stairs, then she ran back into her room and opened the chest of draws recently occupied with her belongings. She whipped on a coat and grabbed a scarf and some round glasses, which she had bought with for such an occasion. She stood in front of a full length mirror, arranged the scarf over her head, tucked away any tell-tale strands of hair into it and put on the glasses. Flora stood back, inspected the image and sighed, she had started to realise that what she thought were master disguises were not all she thought they were, but she didn't have all day and at a distance this would have to do. She left her room and locked it, then made her way down the stairs, slowly enough that she didn't look suspicious, but quick enough to hopefully catch up with Sycamore.


	7. Chapter 7: The Walkers and the Tail

**MASSIVE****thanks to everyone who has favourited, followed and reviewed the story! You are all amazing **

Chapter 7: The Walkers and the Tail

A small, thin woman opened the door to them, she looked up at the professor. "May I help you?"

she asked timidly.

"Good afternoon, madam, my name is professor Hershel Layton, I believe this is where the Walkers are staying?"

"Oh!" The woman's face lit up."Is this about the... house problem?"

"Indeed." The professor replied, the woman opened the door and let them in. They entered a small sitting room with a sofa in the centre, on the sofa was a boy a bit younger than Luke and girl who was about seven, they didn't looked traumatised as Luke had expected. Both the children turned their gaze from the television onto the professor and Luke, the little girl's mouth dropped.

"This is Robert and Catherin, my husband is in the other room." said Mrs. Walker.

"Luke, I'll just have a chat with Mr and Mrs. Walker." Luke nodded and the

professor and Mrs. Walker disappeared into the next room, Luke sat down on a stool by the sofa.

"Is that really him?" whispered Catherin, who was staring at the door the professor had just left

though as if she expected a monster to jump out of it, which, it occurred to Luke, judging by her

recent experience may have seemed quite probable to her.

"Who? The professor?" Luke asked, not sure what she meant. Catherin turned to look at him, she was staring at him as if he had turned into gold.

"Do you know him?" she said even quieter.

"Umm, yes," said Luke, slightly baffled by her excitement. "I'm his apprentice." The girl gave a high pitched squeak and fell over backwards onto he brother, Luke was stunned, he knew the professor was well known and had made the front page of the news a few times, but he never thought he was this famous.

"Did you hear that Robert!" Catherin squealed and shook the boy's arm "It's professor Layton!" Robert pushed off his sister, he had been watching the television the whole time and was obviously not as interested as Catherin.

"Just because someone appears in the papers once or twice, doesn't make them celebrities." Luke was kind of glad to hear Robert say this. Catherin sulked and folded her arms, the boy switched off the television and turned to face Luke. "So, I guess you want to ask us some questions?"

"Umm, yes." Luke fumbled in his bag for his notebook; he pulled it out and turned to a fresh page. "So, is it correct that your house is being haunted by the ghost of Leon Bronev?" He tried to sound like the professor when he questioned people. Catherin nodded.

"Yes, yes! It is! He was scary, wasn't he Rob!" Her excited energy returning, but not sounding

particularly scared, in fact she sounded more proud, as if the ghost were some expensive ornament or toy. "Sometimes," she continued "sometimes I would wake up at night and hear a moaning noise,and when I went to tell Ma she said I was being silly and put me back to bed. But then one night, Rob heard it too! Didn't Rob?" Robert was looking away and fiddling with his fingers.

"Yes..." he said quietly, not wanting the embrace the subject as much as his sister was, "I did, we went out onto the landing, and we heard it again, louder and it was definitely coming from Pa's Study. We got Ma and Pa up and they told us not to make up stories, but then..."

"Then it happened again! And they heard it!" Catherin interrupted, not wanting the best part of the

story taken from her. "And we all went to see what it was, and Pa opened the door, and at first there was nothing." She was talking so quickly Luke was having trouble putting it on paper. "But then he jumped out of the painting! Just like a film! We all ran and Pa called the police and they saw him too! It was the scariest thing ever!" at this last bit Luke was listening with his mouth open and almost dropped his pencil, Catherin seem rather pleased with this reaction and was about to continue when Robert cut her off.

"Is that everything?" he said in a rather grumpy tone.

"Oh! Umm, no" Luke collected himself and added to his notes, "So... when did it happen?"

"A week and two days ago at midnight," the girl replied, sounding as if she had rehearsed it. "I know it was midnight because the church bell rang just as he jumped out the painting, which just proves that he was a real ghost!"

"And... this painting that you're talking about..." said Luke, scribbling down words.

"Oh, his portrait! It hangs in Pa's study and always as, ever since we got this house. He looked

different though." Catherin exclaimed. "In the painting he's wearing a brown suit, but his ghost was wearing a dark blue suit and sunglasses, and he had a moustache and beard." Ah ha, thought Luke, this certainly sounded like the man he met three years ago. The door opened again and the professor re-entered.

"Ah, are you nearly done here?" the professor asked

"Urmm, actually we just finished." Luke answered, gathering his things.

"Right, we'll be off then." the professor announced, tipping his hat at the family. "Thank you for your time." then the two left.

She waited for the door to close behind him, and then crossed the room. As she opened the door a gust of evening air blew into her, she could just see him as he disappeared down a path towards the market, a crowded area, good sign; it's always easier to go unnoticed when there are lots of people. Sycamore passed though the stalls rather quickly and Flora had a hard time following him without looking suspicious, what made it worse was that there were no more children around, just adults doing their last minute shopping, but she looked enough like an adult and would pass as one for now. Sycamore turned down another street, a housing block which was a lot quieter than the market. Ah, Flora bit her lip, this is where it's going to get a lot trickier, she couldn't just follow him down there, if he turned around he'd work it out straight away, if only she had a bag of some sort, then she would just look like someone bringing their shopping home. Out of the corner of her eye he saw a paper bag filled with spoiled apples in a dust bin, making sure no one was looking she made a grab for it, it was by no means ideal and was a bit sticky for the rest of the dust bins contents, but it would have to do. She waited a few seconds more then made her way down the street, Sycamore was quite a long way ahead now and Flora knew she could easily lose him, but travelling any faster was too risky, so, clutching the bag to her chest she moved forwards. Sycamore kept moving forwards, never turning down a road, it seemed as if... it looked like... no, that's just not fair, he wouldn't...

He did...

Oh great...

Of all the houses he could have gone to, he chose the solitary one with absolutely nobody around it, there was no chance of blending in here, so she placed the apples next to another dust bin and crouched behind some bushes. She eventually managed to get as close to the house as she dared. Sycamore pushed open the garden gate which had the remains of a white paint coating clinging to the woodwork, he made his way down the stone path to the door of the house, passing a swing set that looked as if it was twice the age of anyone who would use it, however some parts of it were obviously new. There was no sound coming from the house and it was quite old, to anyone passing it, it would look like it had been abandoned long ago, yet the lawn was well tended to and the flowerbed was looking alright, yet the whole thing was reeking of emptiness.

Crack

How come the smallest of twigs make such a loud noise at really inconvenient moments? Sycamore swung round in her direction. Flora froze, too scared to breath. After a few agonizing moments of Sycamore staring into the bushes he turned around and carried on towards the door, it was all Flora could do not to sigh with relief. When Sycamore reached the door he took a key out of his pocket fitted it into the keyhole. Did he live here? He couldn't, otherwise why would he get a hotel room? Or was it was another part of his false identity? He pushed the door open, on the other side there was a long, dark corridor and a flight of stairs. Sycamore almost stepped inside but stopped, he sighed and entered the house. Flora waited there for about 10 minutes before Sycamore reappeared, locked the door, then went back down the street he came from, when he was out of sight Flora stepped out onto the road, more confused than ever.


	8. Chapter 8: Frail Trust

**In this chapter tension is rising between Luke and Flora, can Flora trust the professor and Luke to tell the whole story? **

Chapter 8: Frail Trust

Flora followed Sycamore back to The Duke's Arms. When he went inside she removed her disguise and entered the hotel. She found a trolley full of fresh towels and wrapped the clothes in a large bath towel and returned to her room. She found the professor in the hallway.

"Ah, Flora," said the professor who had just been about to walk down the stairs Flora was climbing. "I was looking for you."

"Oh, sorry professor, I was..." She tried to think of an alibi. "... I was just getting some towels, they forgot to put some in my room."

"Very well," the professor replied, making a mental note of the pair of glasses sticking out of the

bundle in her arms. "Well, when you are ready we were going to have some dinner."

"Okay, I'll see in a minute." Flora smiled, and retreated to her room.

After dinner the four decided that an early night all round would be a good idea, after all, in the morning they were going to the Walkers home to inspect this ghost matter, and although none of

them said so, they were all pretty nervous. When he got back to his room, Luke sat on his bed and fiddle with his fingers, he was terrified of the idea of seeing an actual ghost, but he couldn't chicken out, he wouldn't chicken out, that would be letting down the professor, and Sycamore would say something awful like "well, you can't expect that much of the boy, he's only a kid". No, said another part of Luke's brain, you have to stop thinking about him like that, remember, you work with him now, you did it before and you WILL do it again. There was a polite knock on the door.

"Um... Come in." Luke croaked, Flora poked her head around the door.

"Hi, are you okay?"

"Ur... Yeah, you?"

"Alright, thanks." Flora walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, she sighed and gave Luke a

serious look. "There's something I was hoping to ask you," Luke looked at her blankly. "Um... Who is professor Sycamore?"

"Oh, well, he's a professor in archaeology, he helped the professor and I in a case a few..."

"Luke," Flora cut him off "that's not what I meant..." Luke stared. She knows, it's only been a few

hours and she already knows, Luke was horrified but tried to keep a straight face, his acting skills had failed him so far but he had to rely on them more than ever now to get him out of this mess.

"... What do you mean then?" Luke said innocently, Flora gave him one of those looks that can only be described as "you know, and I know you know, and you know I know you know" but Luke kept up his bewildered act. Flora frowned, then took a small, folded, vaguely familiar piece paper from her hand and placed it on the bed in front of Luke, he looked at it for a moment and...

The note...

THE NOTE!

Luke's blood ran cold, he searched his pockets, and sure enough the note was gone. He'd lost it! And worse, Flora had found! And read it! And here it was in front of him and all he could do was stare in horror.

"Luke." said Flora gently ."Who is professor Sycamore?" Luke, close to tears, bit his lip. He turned his head away so she wouldn't see his guilty expression.

"I'm sorry, Flora, it-it's for your own good"

"Luke!" Flora nearly shouted, she was shocked at her own outburst. She checked no one heard her and calm herself down, the looked at Luke worriedly. "He's Don Paolo, isn't he?"

"What? Oh, no." said Luke, slightly shaken by Flora's impatience.

"Hu? Then who is he?" Flora was confused, if it wasn't Don Paolo then, well, who could it be? Luke sighed.

"I'm sorry Flora, I can't tell you." He looked at her solemnly. "But I'll tell you this, you've never met him, but every time the professor and I have trusted him before, he's stabbed us in the back." Flora looked slightly scared now but Luke continued. "The professor is working with him again, so I will too, but please, be careful." There was a rather long silence now, neither of them really knew what to say, until Luke decided it had been long enough. "I'm going to bed, um, good night" he gave Flora a fragile smile.

"Er, good night" she got up and headed out of the room. Just before opening the door she stopped, she didn't turn around but Luke could hear the hurt in her voice. "I want to be part of this investigation just as much as you do Luke, I hope one day I can be trusted with these kind of things." And with that, she was gone.

**Hope you liked the chapter! Quick note: please forgive me if updates become slightly lest frequent ans school is starting again :( **

**Once again, thanks for all the support!**


	9. Chapter 9: Face to Face with a Ghost

**This is it! They are going to the house! (not at midnight though, sorry).**

Chapter 9: Face to Face with a Ghost

This was it, Luke straightened his cap and inspected his image in the full length mirror, the gentleman-in-training decided he looked smart enough, but would have to do something about the shaking. He made his way into the professor's room where the others were gathered and hastily made some tea. As the two professors discussed what time they would make their way to the house Luke quietly sipped his tea in the hopes that it would help his nerves, Flora came and sat beside him, much happier than Luke had seen her the night before.

"So," Flora's fingers were wrapped around her own mug. "We're going to see a ghost today! How exciting!" Luke gave her a disapproving look.

"This isn't sightseeing Flora," he warned. "This ghost is terrorising the town!"

"I know, I know." Flora smiled. "It's just exciting, alright?" Luke sighed, he wasn't so excited, or at least not in the way Flora was, but at least it kept her from being scared stiff.

As they made their way to the Walkers home they passed through the market. Flora kept getting distracted by stalls, at first Luke was trying to pull her away, but soon found that he too was intrigued by the things they had for offer. Soon they turned off at a street, the same street, Flora couldn't help noticing, that she had followed Sycamore down. The further they went, the more sure she was of their destination, Luke saw her troubled expression and mistook it for nerves about the ghost finally kicking in.

"You know, you can always stay outside." He reassured her. Flora gave him a cheeky grin.

"What? and let you lot have all the fun without me?" Luke couldn't help smiling at this, until he caught a glimpse of Sycamore smiling back at them, making Luke shudder.

"Right, I think this is it." As the professor spoke, Flora looked up to see that it was indeed the house Sycamore had visited the day before, what was going on here?

"Wow…" Luke opened the gate and held for the others. "This place looks… Dreary."

"To say the least." Added the professor. "I got the impression from the Walkers that they were proud to own a well tended establishment, I can't imagine how it could have got itself in such a state in just 9 days."

"Well, we are talking about a haunted house," said Sycamore, a hand on his chin and smiling. "Who knows what we could find."

"You don't really believe that superstitious nonsense?" Asked Luke, only a touch sourly.

"I'd say it's too early to rule anything out," Sycamore gave a chuckle. "Ghosts included."

Sycamore unlocked the front door with the key that he had 'collected from the Walkers earlier that morning', however it looked exactly like the one he had used to let himself into house the day before. Flora and Luke went in first, the professor was about to follow them, but hung back a second, taking in the sorry scene. He could see it, he couldn't remember, but he could see it: a young boy being ushered into his new parent's car as he gives his big brother a last desperate look, wanting anything but to lose the last of his family.

"Layton?" The professor snapped back into reality at Sycamore's beckoning and followed the others into the house.

Thick layers of dust coated every surface, there was so much of the stuff that some had taken to floating in the air causing the intruders to cough. Cobwebs occupied the walls but not so much as a money spider was to be seen.

"Eek!" Flora jumped as she stepped on a creaky floorboard, she tried to laugh it off. "Never mind haunted, this place is creep central!"

"But, I don't see any ghosts…" Luke thought aloud as he slowly pushed open a door. "Hey? What's this?" He made his way into the room and the others followed. It was probably a sitting room, but it was hard to tell as all the furniture was covered in white dust cloths and the there was an abundance of buckets of pale paint and brushes.

"It would seem they were in the middle of redecorating before the ghost appeared." The professor concluded."

"Hmm, oh…" Luke held his nose. "But, it dusn't half sthink."

"Yes…" Sycamore agreed. "Old paint is, offensive to the nose."

The group wandered around a bit more but found nothing that seemed supernatural. "Perhaps…" Luke offered, "we need to come back at midnight, that's when the Walkers saw it, isn't it."

"I don't think so Luke," the professor replied. "Mr and Mrs Walker informed me that the ghost has been spotted in broad daylight, but only when people entered the house."

"So, he could jump out at us at any time?" This made Flora's stomach churn and Luke immediately regretted saying it, the professor saw her pale expression.

"Flora," he said sternly. "I insist you stay outside." But Flora just shook her head, she would never be any use to the professor if she just sat out all the scary bits.

Luke sighed "We're not getting anywhere, at this rate we'll never solve this case!"

"Hmm." The professor rested his chin in his hand, it was true the investigation was going slowly. he turned to face the wall on his left hand side which held a mirror in a golden painted frame, there were many antiques such as this spread throughout the house, the professor viewed a few through the mirror; a china vase filled with dead flowers, a woodcarving of an elephant and a large grandfather clock which was ticking loudly, and next to that, the pale figure of Leon Bronev.


	10. Chapter 10: Post from the Dead

**Sorry this is late! But it's a nice long chapter, enjoy!**

Chapter 10: Post from the Dead

Layton was so shocked that he stumbled over backwards, tripping over Luke and sending them both tumbling to the ground, Flora's scream confirmed that what he had just seen was not his imagination. Luke and the professor got to their feet they saw the grim man levitating above them, an awful cackle echoed through the the hall, the entire house seemed to vibrate, the laughter getting louder and louder. Sycamore turned to Flora, who was staring at Bronev, covering her ears and sobbing all in one.

"Get out!" He cried, hardly heard. "Get outside now!" This time she had no objection, she made a dash for the door. Bronev grinned wickedly and waved his left hand. The mirror simultaneously smashed, firing razor sharp pieces in Flora's direction. She kept running, missing most of them, but they were only the first. The frame that had recently held the mirror flew off the wall and slammed into her side, knocking her to the ground.

"Flora!" Luke yelled, the professor ran to her.

"Are you alright?" He panicked as he helped her sit up.

"Ngh…" Flora clutched her head and continued sobbing.

"Layton! Look out!" Layton turned to see the grandfather clock was flying towards him, the hands were spinning so quickly it chimed every second, adding to the horrific professor ducked just in time, barely avoiding losing his hat, the clock hit the front door as other heavy pieces of furniture followed. Sycamore tried to pull them away.

"It's no good!" He called to the others. "They're stuck fast!"

"Oh no!" Luke wailed, he had tears in his eyes now. "We're trapped!"

"This way!" Layton half pulled, half carried Flora into the sitting room, Luke and Sycamore followed suit. Sycamore slammed the door and pushed a sofa in front of it, though he was uncertain that it would have much effect. In this time the professor had opened a window and was lowering Flora out of it. "We're done here, now we must get out as soon as possible." the professor called. the Luke and Sycamore hesitated.

"Youngest first." Sycamore offered, Luke glared.

"A gentleman always lets others go before him." He recited, arms folded.

"LUKE!" Flora had come to the window and was shouting with annoyance. "Now is NOT the time!" Slightly irritated by this, Luke started climbing onto the windowsill, when Bronev materialised in front of him.

"Boo…"

"Waaaaaaaaaagh!" Luke fell on his back, tipping over a bucket of paint and getting a large splodge of it on his jumper. Sycamore helped him up and practically pushed him through the window. Once everyone was out they ran down the path, only stopping when there was a good 40 meters between them and the house. The younger two collapsed onto the grass, all were heavily panting, getting so rather odd looks from the locals.

"Is everyone alright?" The professor checked, dusting off his jacket, there were general murmurs of 'yes' and 'I'm okay'.

"Ahhhhh!" Luke cried, pointing to the house. "H-he's following us!" The others turned to see… Nothing.

"Luke… there's no one there." Flora tried to reassure him.

"Y-yes there is," he wailed, tears were streaming down his cheeks and he was still pointing. "H- *gulp* he's right there!"

"My word…" Sycamore pushed his his glasses up his nose as he gave the boy a sorry look. "That must have really disturbed him mentally."

"Quite." said the professor, stunned.

They walked back to The Duke's Arms, Luke was whimpering all the time, occasionally catching glimpses of Bronev. Layton felt truly terrible for letting him and Flora come with them, what good had it done? And they were no where closer to the truth…

"Mr Layton!" All turned their heads as a strange old man jogged towards them.

"Bruno?" Flora was shocked to see St. Mystere's caretaker here. Bruno gave her a smile. "How are you? How is everyone back at the village? Oh, I hope no one breaks down while your gone!" Flora couldn't stop the questions flowing but Bruno held up his hand to silence her.

"I wish I could stop and chat Miss Flora," he said, panting. "But I need to have a quick chat with Mr Layton." The professor turned to the others.

"Go on ahead, I'll catch up with you." Sycamore nodded and lead Luke -who was in such shock he hadn't noticed Desmonds hand on his shoulder- in the right direction, Flora hesitated for a moment, then followed. Layton turned his attention back to Bruno. "So, what seems to be the problem?"

"Oh, there's no problem, I just, well, you weren't at home and I heard you were here…" Bruno sighed. He reached into a pouch in his belt to reveal a package, which he handed to Layton. "Augustus instructed me to give this to Flora when was adopted, however, due to the… Excitement of that day I forgot about it. I found it the other day and I've been looking for ya since." The professor examined the parcel, the words 'Private, for Flora Reinhold ONLY'. "As you can see, supposed to be for Miss Flora's eyes only, but…" He gave a sad smile. "If Guso was with us now, I'm sure he'd 'ave rathered you read it and, gave it to her when you saw fit." Bruno sniffed, the checked his watch. "Right! I'd best be off! those robots don't supervise themselves you know!"

"Thank you, very much."

"No problem! Any time!" And with that, he jogged back off in the direction he came.

When the professor got back to the hotel he found everyone in Luke's room. Luke himself was huddled in a chair with a cup of tea in his hands, he was still shaking and his cheeks were red and swollen. "Are you all okay?" The three nodded back at him. The professor sat in another chair. "Alright, then we may as well look back on our visit , did anyone find anything that might serve as a clue behind the ghost?" Everyone remained silent, no one could think of anything.

"You know, I came here thinking it must all be one big trick, and that something simple had been overlooked," said Sycamore, sadly. "But after that… It just seemed so… Real."

"Umm." The professor agreed. "If no one minds, there's something I'd like to have a look at, I won't take long." There were general nods and gestures of approval, the professor got up and left the room, entering his own where he had left the package. It took him about ten minutes to read it all. "My word…" He uttered to himself, how was he going to tell Flora?

Meanwhile, Flora was making Luke some more tea. "I don't get it, how come only I can see him." Flora, once again, was trying to laugh off the situation.

"Well, you never know, it may turn out for the best!" she said, handing Luke the tea. "perhaps it's your oracle powers coming back!" Luke frowned at her.

"You mean the oracle powers I never had to begin with?" Flora rolled her eyes, then she noticed the paint on Luke's jumper.

"Oh! I hope none of that's got on the chair! No? Good. Quick, get that off and I'll wash it before the paint stains!" She helped Luke pull the jumper off -he had his white button up shirt underneath- and she rushed into the bathroom, filled the sink with water, dunked the jumper in and started scrubbing the paint with a sponge. The professor knocked on the door and came back into the room.

"Oh, hello professor." Luke greeted him. "Did you find what you needed?"

"Yes…" The professor replied, he was about to continue when Flora reappeared.

"Sorry Luke, it looks like it isn't coming out, I think the water made it shrink too. But you have more like this haven't y- AHH!" Flora stumbled several steps backwards, her eyes wide with shock. "L-Luke's right!" She gasped. "He's here!" there was a dead silence, nobody moved or barely breathed. Layton was staring at Flora with a stunned - but thoughtful - expression, that then broke into a grin.

"Ah ha! I've got it!" All turned to him, Luke's mouth hung open.

"Y-you have?!"

"Almost certainly," he replied, then addressed the younger two. "Are you two fit to do a quick job for me?"

"Of course, professor!" They chorused.

"Very well," the professor smiled at them. "Could you go downstairs and ask the Walkers the following question?" Luke wrote these down in his note pad.

"You can count on us, professor!" Luke beamed.

"Professor Sycamore?"

"Hmm?"

"Could you go to the town hall ask the Mayor these questions?" The professor recited another set of questions.

"Alright," Sycamore answered. "But where will you be?"

"I need to make a quick trip into London."

"What?" Luke exclaimed. "But that's an hour's drive each way!"

"Yes," the professor confirmed that this was true. "But I should be back in time."

"In time for what?" Flora asked, dreading the worst. The professor gave her a reassuring smile.

"We're going back to the Walker's house." He told the disbelieving listeners. "Tonight."

**By the way if you have worked out what Layton has (or even just have a theory) PM me because I need to know if I'm leaving to many clues lying around, once again, thanks for reading and please review!**


	11. Chapter 11: The Professor's Return

**Sorry this is so short and so late! I've been having a bad case of writers block and I had to do something before I gave up on fanfiction all together! Hope you enjoy! And again MASSIVE THANKS to everyone who reviewed!**

Chapter 11: The Professor's Return

The sun was setting on the town of St. Colton. So anxious for the professors, Luke, Flora and Sycamore had taken to waiting in the car park for his return. Luke and Flora were sat on a stone

wall, Sycamore, as perusal, was pacing around.

"Did you get what you needed?" Luke looked up at Sycamore as he said this.

"Urr, yeah," he replied. "It was just as the professor said."

Sycamore nodded. "Same here," he added. "It really looks as though he's on to something."

"Of course he is!" Flora beamed. "He's Professor Layton after all!" they waited a little while longer, about ten minutes, before they saw the unmistakable Layton-mobile.

"Oh! The professor!" Luke and Flora jumped off the wall and jogged over to where the professor had parked, Sycamore close behind them. As the professor stepped out onto the concrete floor he was joined by the three.

"Professor, you're back!" "Did you find what you needed?" "We asked those questions, you were spot on! How did you know?" Sycamore noticed that the professor seemed a bit overwhelmed and proceeded to settle things down.

"Alright, calm down you two!" Luke and Flora stopped yattering. "The professor has just come back from a long, tiring drive and the first thing you do is talk at him!" This made Flora look a bit sheepish, but received a death glare from Luke.

"That's fine, Sycamore," the professor assured him. "And yes, I found what I needed."

"What was it?" Luke asked eagerly, the professor smiled.

"Remember Luke, a gentleman must alway be patient." He reached back into his trusty car and produced four torches and handed them out. "Here, you'll need these."

"We're not, really going back, are we?" Flora shivered as she asked, the professor gave her a loving smile.

"But of course! But I assure you, no harm will come to any of you."

"How do you know, professor?" Luke was also a bit pale.

"I'll explain on the way over, Luke." The professor announced, and so, following the confident gentleman, the group set off as the church bell rang 10 times.


	12. Chapter 12: The Secret of the Portrait

**Here it is, the long over due chapter! I hope it makes up for the wait, but it's defiantly the most exciting one yet! **

Chapter 12: The Secret of the Portrait

Luke yawned as the four made their way through the sleepy town. "Come on professor, please tell us what's going on!"

The professor laughed. "It's still a theory at the moment, but," He smiled at his apprentice. "I think I've kept you all in suspense long enough." At this all ears strained so as not to miss a word of the professor's explanation, even nearby animals held their tongues. "Tell me Luke, with our last encounter with the the deceased Leon Bronev, did you noticed anything suspicious? Anything that may have suggested that what we saw was all a trick."

"Umm…" Luke thought hard, but without result. "Urr, no…"

"Exactly."

"Uh!?" Luke gave his mentor a disbelieving look.

The professor smiled again. "There was nothing that would serve as any evidence that what we saw was fake, this was the first clue to finding the truth."

Flora sighed. "Wow, we've barely started and I'm already confused!"

There was a general giggle in response to this. Layton continued. "The next hint was Luke and Flora."

"Hey?" Again Luke was caught off guard.

"Tell me," the professor addressed the boy. "When you and Flora saw the ghost outside of the house, what did you have in common?" Luke thought for a moment, before Flora came up with an idea.

"Oh! Is it because we're both children?" This made Sycamore laugh a little.

"Not quite, my dear." He told Flora. "But I see where this is going, Layton,"

"Hmm, well, the reason they saw him was that they were making contact with Luke's jumper…"

"Which had paint from the house on it!" Luke had finally caught on. "Oh! Is that why you wanted us to find out where the paint had come from?"

"Indeed," the professor said in a more serious tone. "The ghost, and all of his tricks, were created by our imaginations, due to hallucination gas in the paint…" Everyone had stopped walking and were quite silent.

"Layton, I appreciate you judgment, but isn't the idea of 'hallucination gas' a bit... Rash?"

"Folsense gas…" Said Luke, almost under his breath.

"What?" Sycamore was a bit bewildered, the professor explained the happenings in Folsense and they continued walking. "So, you think that the ghost is really just, gas?" Sycamore thought out loud. "But that would mean… Somebody planted the ghost there?"

"Yes," the professor confirmed this, the once again turned to Luke. "What was the answer to second question you asked the Walkers?"

"Oh!" Luke pulled his notebook out of his bag and read aloud. "Mr Walker had bought a telephone for his study a few week previously." He put the notebook away and smiled. "From the same shop they got the paint!"

"Well done, my boy." The professor congratulated him, then turned to Sycamore. "And your findings?"

This time Sycamore beamed at the professor. "It went very well," he assured him. "He told me that there had been an electronics and redecoration store that had opened up about 7 weeks ago -presumably the one the Walkers purchased the paint and the telephone from-, but it closed 5 weeks later. All the Mayor knows about this matter is that the property had been sold to an unknown buyer, but the 'undercover police' have been seen around there a lot, so he guessed it must be their base.

"Thank you," said the professor. "And now, here is the rest of my theory." The group were now exiting the empty market-place and were now making their way down the road that lead to the Walker's house. Layton proceeded to explain his theory. "I believe that the telephone Mr Walker bought was the source of the moaning sound that young Catherin heard few nights before Bronev's first appearance, being a young child she immediately suspected a ghost and told her family so, forming the same grim suspicions within them. I believe that when entering Mr Walker's study one of the first thing's they would have seen was Bronev's portrait, and so, as with our experience in Folsense, a ghost they expected, a ghost they saw."

"Wow…" Luke was having trouble taking it all in, yet it seemed so obvious now, and he said so.

"I know!" Flora replied with a squeal. "Hey, professor? Do you think the undercover police are behind this? It seems a bit odd them appearing at the same time and buying that shop."

"That was exactly what I was thinking, Flora," said the professor, quite pleased that she had made this deduction. "I was also wondering if they might be responsible for the disappearance of James Downing, as they would have needed an excuse to be here…" The professor stopped dead in his tracks and bit his lip. "Ah, yes, that reminds me. I have so rather terrible news from London."

"Hu!?" Luke panicked. "Wha- what's happened?"

"Inspector Chelmey has also gone missing," the professor announced. "His wife, Amelie, reported that he has been very tense and withdrawn recently, always busy though hasn't been working on an investigation for a while, and now no one has seen hide nor hair of him for some time."

Sycamore rested his chin in his hand and frowned at the professor. "Did you get an exact day of when he disappeared?" Layton gave him an even more worried look.

"Yes," he said in an almost whisper. "Ten days ago…"

Sycamore's eyes grew wide with shock. "The same day the ghost appeared…" He mumbled. "Please tell me that's a coincidence."

"No…" The professor continued walking as he spoke. "If I am correct, this whole thing - Chelmey, the ghost, James, perhaps even Bronev's death- is part of a much bigger picture." There was silence for a while after that, there was just so much to take in.

"Every question we answer, just leads to more. How are we ever going to solve this?" Luke wondered out loud.

"Whatever it takes, we must get to the bottom of this, I fear that many lives may be in danger." The professor told them as they approached their destination. "But right now we going to find the answer we came here for, what is the Bronev treasure?"

When they had all gone inside, a nearby bush started to shake as a head popped out of it. It began to have a muffled conversation with a walkie-talkie.

"This is 026 speaking, I think we 'ave a problem, over."

"What? What's happened? Over."

"It's Top Hat, Boss, 'es come back. I think 'es worked it out. Over."

"Oh, good. Over."

"Hu?" The uniformed figure stared at the device in confusment. "Whadda ya mean, 'good'? Over"

"Fool!" the walkie-talkie screeched making it's holder jump. "No one on our team had the brains to crack this! That's whole reason we set this thing up! Nothing attracts Layton like a puzzle, especially one regarding his late father." The speaker sniggered at this. "And as we need him anyway, we're killing two birds with one stone, no, three birds with that Sycamore guy! I can barely believe how lucky we've been!" He gave a cruel laugh. "And better yet, Layton is none the wiser that we've been using him this whole time! And you're saying we have a problem! Right, wait there, 'ere's what we're gonna do." The man who had been listening to this in bewildered silence gave a crooked smile, if there was one thing he was good at it was being given orders, not necessarily carrying them out, but it was the receiving that counted, right?

The four entered the house and made their way to the dining room. Luke noticed that the ghost did appear at first, but as no one was scared of it (the professors weren't even acknowledging it) it eventually disappeared. The displaced furniture such as the clock and the broken glass returned to their original positions, it even turned out that most of the dust was the work of the gas. When they found the dining room they all took a seat round the dining table.

"Now," the professor addressed his companions. "I would go as far as to say that the Bronev Treasure, or at least a clue to finding it, is somewhere in this house, I think-"

"Professor!" Luke sat up straight and tried to loom determined. "Please, let me work this one out!"

The professor chuckled. "Alright, my boy, if you think you can." Luke nodded and opened his notebook, scribbling down notes and checking old ones.

"Maybe, maybe there's a clue in the will…" Said Luke, half to himself. Flora was also having a go at working it out, and the mention of the will made her think of something.

"You know, the will said 'I give the Bronev family treasure to the _heir__s_ of the Bronev bloodline', but the professor was his last remaining relative, right?" Luke's pencil slipped as he was writing, all eyes turned to the professor. Sycamore frown and mouthed "You haven't told her?" at him. The professor cleared his throat.

"Very, urr, observant of you, Flora." The professor adjusted his hat. "But I am no expert on the Bronev family, there may be others I do not know of."

"Oh, how exciting!" She clasped her hands together. "You could have a whole other family you didn't even know existed!" This made the others feel even more awkward, notably Sycamore. Luke gulped and and got back to his work. It was a couple of minutes later when Luke jumped from his seat triumphantly.

"Ah ha! I think I've got it!" Everyone turned to look at him as he began his explanation. "If the treasure is in this house, it would have to be somewhere that couldn't be taken away, so not a piece of furniture or something like that. At first I thought it could be anything from a wall to a fireplace, BUT then I remembered Catherin Walker said that Bronev's portrait has always been in the study, perhaps that's because they couldn't move it!"

"Oh, well done Luke!" Flora had also risen from her seat and hugged Luke, making him blush.

"Well, we should examine the portrait at once!" Sycamore exclaimed. As the two congratulated him, Luke looked in the professor's direction to see if he had gained his mentor's approval, the professor smiled and nodded, cause Luke to swell up with pride. The professor smiled sadly to himself.

He was really going to miss his apprentice.

They found the study and discovered that sure enough, the painting was stuck fast to the wall.

"I know we're not here to discus art, but this is an amazing painting, and the frame is magnificent." They had all got used to Flora coming out with random comments such as this, but to be fair the frame was quite impressive, painted golden with an exotic pattern. "... And look! It even has a puzzle on it!" They dashed over to see the discovery she had made without really knowing it, and yes, part of the frame was a sliding puzzle.

"Flora! You found it!" Luke beamed at Flora who was blushing. Sycamore reached up to crack the puzzle, when Luke stopped him. "Hey! Flora found it, she should get to solve it."

"Oh…" Sycamore looked at Flora apologetically and moved out of the way. Flora was a bit nervous as her puzzle solving skills weren't as advanced as the professor's or Luke's and it didn't help that she had to stand on a chair and reach over a desk to actually get to the puzzle, but with a bit of time (and some hints from the professor) the frame eventually gave a satisfying 'click' to signify that it had met it's match. It swung open like a door to reveal a gloomy, dark staircase. They stood, breathtaken and still, this was it, this was what they had come for. Luke woke from this hypnotised state and scrambled onto the desk, to be stopped by Sycamore. "W-wait! There could be traps, it could be dangerous."

"Yes, that's true." The professor agreed. "Alright, I'll go first and tell you if it's clear." He climbed onto the desk and stepped into the doorway, he made his way down the spiraling stairs, every footstep echoing. It was a few seconds before they heard him call up to them. "It's alright, come on down." At this Sycamore pulled himself up and into the the passage. Luke quickly made his way onto the desk, but slipped on a piece and just managed to grab the edge of the doorway, stopping himself from tumbling to the floor. he was stuck in a position where he couldn't get up or down very easily. He reached up to Sycamore.

"H-help me up." He gasped. Sycamore looked down at him and grinned, not a cheerful, friendly Sycamore grin, it was cold and crooked, a cruel grin.

A Descole grin.

He stamped on Luke's hand, causing him to fall, and slammed the door shut.

**Dun dun DUUUUUUUN! I hate myself for that last bit, but it was gonna happen sooner or later, thanks for reading, don't forget to review and I'll see ya all next time!**


	13. Chapter 13: Truce of the Friends

**Sorry for the long wait! I hope this isn't to cheesy and cringe-worthy.**

Chapter 13: Truce of the Friends

"Luke!" He opened his eyes and sat up, rubbing his head. His hand hurt, his back hurt, his head hurt, but most of all, he hurt. He had trusted him, even if in the smallest way possible he had trusted him, he had made the mistake he had been determined not to, and now the professor was in danger… This was too much for him, he began to sob.

"Oh, Luke…" Flora bent down and put her arms around him, making comforting 'hush'ing sounds. This quickly changed to a high pitched "Eek!", Luke looked up to see that something that looked like a robotic grappling hook had smashed through the wall next to the portrait. Flora jumped to her feet as the device dug its claws into the painting, the cord that was coming through the hole and into the head of the machine tightened, then it stopped moving. After a few moments Flora approached the machine hesitantly, when she was sure it wasn't going to come back to life she had a good look at it. She began smiled.

"Ah ha!" she exclaimed. "The claws on this are only attached by screws, I think I can get them off!"

"What!?" This caught Luke completely by surprise, Flora turned to him.

"Well? Don't just sit there! See if you can find a tool box!" Luke sprang to his feet and the two started searching through every draw in the room (which was quite a lot). Luke found a pen knife, the kind that also has a built in spanner, screwdriver, spirit level and -for no reason that anyone understands- a comb. "Perfect!" Flora said in a bubbly manner, she took the knife and climbed into the desk. Luke expected her to get straight to dismantling the lock/

grappling hook, instead she sliced open the tube that connected the head to whatever was on the other side of the wall. Flora saw his questioning look and explained. "In that book I was reading, it said you must ALWAYS cut off the power supply to a device before you start dismantling it, as it may have a defence mechanism, like a bomb."

"Wait…" Luke looked quite shocked. "That book was about disarming enemy devices?" Flora giggled.

"Well," she replied, slicing the wires in the tube. "You didn't think I was reading about car mechanics or something like that, did you?"

"Umm, well, yes." Flora laughed as she fiddled with the pen knife to get the screwdriver end out. after a few minutes of her undoing the screws the rest of the head flopped off the portrait and hung limply out of the wall. Luke gave 'whoop' of joy as Flora pulled the door open and jumped inside, however before making her way down the stairs she inspected the other end of the lock.

"Hmm," she frowned. "This end is screwed into the wall, that means he must have installed it before we came here." Luke had joined her at this point and was frowning too, just to make it look like he understood. Flora gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "That must have been it! That's why he came here!"

"What?!"

Flora instantly looked guilty.

"The other day, when you and the professor where talking to the Walkers," she began to explain, but her voice was so fast and panicked it was hard to understand her. "Sycamore left, and I followed him, and he came here, I didn't know what he was doing but now…" She stop, close to tears, Luke was bewildered and a bit hurt.

"Flora! Why didn't you tell us!" He too was panicking. "Then we would have some idea what he was up to!" Flora glared at him and stood up.

"WHY DIDN'T I TELL YOU!?" She shouted. "THE PROFESSOR, THE CLOSEST THING I HAVE LEFT TO FAMILY COULD BE DEAD FOR ALL I KNOW AND YOU STILL WON'T TELL ME WHO WE'RE UP AGAINST!" Luke was genuinely scared of her, but also so hurt. How could she say something like that when she had kept information from them? And as for what she had said about the professor, didn't she think Layton could handle himself? Luke cared the world for his mentor and if something were to happen to him…

If something were to happen to the professor, Luke would still have his parents, he would still have his life and his wisdom that Layton had given him, and memories of all the adventures they had together. What would Flora have? This realisation struck Luke dumb, he looked up at the girl, her face red tears and anger. Luke realised that up until now, some part of him had seen Flora as a bit of a nuisance. He cared about her, but some part of him saw her as some silly little girl who wanted to get herself caught up in things she didn't understand…

A part of him saw her as a problem.

And now that part saw Flora as a girl who knew the dangers, knew what could happen as well as Luke did. She knew she wasn't as smart as all the others, but she had followed out of loyalty, and her desperation not to be left behind. Luke now wondered if Flora envied him, the trusty assistant who the professor took everywhere without a second thought. But was Flora, so sweet and kind, even capable of envy?

Of course she was, she was human after all, and she deserved as much recognition as he did...

She deserved to know.

Luke sighed and stood up, looking her in the eye, most of her anger had faded by this point, replaced by concern of her guardian. Luke took a deep breath. "Sycamore is really a criminal called Jean Descole." He announced before he changed his mind. Flora frowned.

"What?" She said, more in a questioning tone than an surprised one. "As in, Mr I-Like-to-Wreck-Things-with-Mechanical-Monsters-and-Dress-Up-as-Posh-Ladies?" This made Luke smiled that Emmy's nickname for the man had amused Flora and stuck in her mind, but stopped himself from saying so. Although they had told Flora about Descole, they rarely mentioned Emmy.

"Ur, yes, if you want to call him that." Luke almost laughed, then pulled himself together. "But that's not all I need to tell you, but I will only tell you if you promise not to argue or ask questions, because right now we need to save the professor. I understand now we should have told you this, but the professor never wanted to and I didn't feel like I should if he didn't want to tell you himself." Flora's eyes were shining from recent tears and anticipation.

"Alright," she agreed. "But only if you promise me this: never keep secrets from me again." This didn't sound like an unreasonable thing to ask, as Luke had already decided on this anyway.

"I promise." He told her, but Flora seemed unsatisfied.

"Swear it," she commanded. "Swear it on your honour as a gentleman." Luke frowned, she was always doing this, always using his wishes to become a true gentleman against him. But he did as he was told, he put his hand on his heart and started reciting something off the top of his head, but sounded as if it would work.

"I swear, on my honour as a gentleman, that I will never keep secrets or information from you as long as I live."

"Even if the professor asks you to?"

"Erm…" Luke gulped. "Well, if the professor asks me to-"

"Not good enough." Flora cut him off, folding her arms. Luke was getting a little irritated by now.

"... Fine." He sighed. "Even if the professor tells me to." Flora beamed.

"Alright," she said, a tad triumphantly. "Now, what's the other thing you need to tell me?"

Luke bit his lip. "Well, to put it as simply as possible…" he was starting to get very nervous, he was not really sure how Flora would react. "Descole is… Well… He's the professor's… Brother." Flora's mouth hung open and her arms fell to her sides. Luke grabbed her hand and started pulling her down the stairs. "Not time for questions! We need to help the professor!" Flora was still in shock, but at his words a grin spread across her face. Luke felt his own mouth form a smile back, and a warm, fuzzy feeling began in his chest. He felt like, for the first time, the two friends were working together in mutual trust.

**Thanks for all the support, you're all amazing! See ya soon!**


	14. Chapter 14: The Heirs of Bronev

**Look at that! Two chapters in one day! It's because we're at the exciting bit and I CAN'T STOP WRITING! (and it has nothing to do with homework procrastination) By the way it's going to be short exciting chapters like this from here on out, so I hope you like them!**

Chapter 14: The Heirs of the Bronev Bloodline

As they descended down the stairs, the sounds became more distinct. There were angry cries of "AHHHGGGG!" And horrible scraping sound of metal meeting metal.

"Descole, please, calm yourself!" The sound of the professor's voice made the two quicken their pace. They reached the bottom of the stairs, still squeezing each others hand, to find a large square room with walls, floor and ceiling made of plain stone, apart from the wall opposite them, which was covered in ancient symbols which Luke thought looked very similar to Azran writing he had seen in the past. In front of this wall were three large steel bowls, which Descole -and indeed he was Descole now, mask, cape and everything- was hitting with his sword. The professor was near him, but far enough way to be safe. At the sight of the unharmed gentleman, Flora could no longer contain herself.

"Professor!" She ran towards him and threw her arms around his waist, she sobbed into his shoulder as he comforted her. Luke decided to keep his distance. Descole turned face the young apprentice.

"Well well, Triton," Descole smirked. "It would seem, despite your foolish mistake earlier, that you got yourself around this one. I wasn't expecting that, I must say I'm impressed." Luke scowled, and was about to make some sort of comeback, but Flora beat him to it.

"Actually, I broke your stupid lock." said the girl, who had pulled away from her guardian and was wearing a matching frown to Luke's. Descole laughed.

"I'm so sorry, my dear, how rude of me to just assume something like that." He gave a sad sigh. "But it turns out this whole thing was a waste of time."

"What do you mean?" Luke spat.

"Allow me to ex-" The professor started to be cut off be Descole.

"Oh no no no, Layton. You've done more than enough explaining for one day, so please, allow ME to explain," he mocked, then pointed his sword in the directing of the wall covered in writing. "A few years after Leon Bronev agreed to work for Targent, he came back here and build this place." He walked towards the wall and ran his hand over some of the script. "This may look like a complex jumble of Azran writing, but Layton, tell me, what do you notice?" The professor put his chin in his hand.

"I am not expert on Azran language," he finally said. "But the same pattern keeps repeating itself here."

"You are correct," said Descole with a nod. "The same sentence is repeated over and over, that sentence is 'When the heirs are reunited, three drops of red shall open me'..."

"Meaning that only the blood of Bronev and his children will open the door." The professor completed Descoles sentence.

"However," the man's grin disappeared. "It must be three different drops of blood. Layton and I are the only ones left." He smiled crookedly again. "Luckily, I have a back up plan."

"Wait! Descole! Before you do anything dreadful." Descole turned to face the professor as he spoke. "I believe there to be a third heir…" All were silent. Luke, awe struck, turned to the professor.

"W-what?!" He exclaimed, but the professor was still talking to Descole.

"I'm almost sure of it," he told him. "But I need to ask you some questions first."

Descole folded his arms. "By all means Layton, ask away."

"A few years ago, when Luke and I first met you as Sycamore, you mentioned having a daughter. Tell me, was this part of your act?" Descole frowned, and looked downwards to the floor.

"No, it was true." He said, much quieter than he had just been. "But you may also recall that I told you the child died. She didn't make it through birth, if you must know, neither did the mother."

"And who was the mother?" Descole looked up at Layton, a disgusted expression on what was visible of his face.

"You don't seem convinced, fine, I'll tell you the whole story."

"Thank you, that would be most helpful."


	15. Chapter 15: The Death of a Child P1

**This chapter ended up being a bit longer than I expected because I really enjoyed writing it, so I hope you enjoy reading it just as much! **

Chapter 15: The Death of a Child and the Birth of a Criminal Part 1

He stood there for a while, long after he had his watched his little brother disappear from his life. Forever. He began to wonder, if Hershel had just left St Colton with his new family, who did that make him? Theodore? No one? He had just lost the last thing that mattered to him, did he need a name anymore? Perhaps not, he told himself as he pulled book upon book off his father's shelf, when you have ancient civilisation to discover, a criminal organisation to take revenge on while dealing with the limits that being only 8 comes with, you don't have time for names.

It turned out not to be that bad, he wrote a letter to his school saying that the Bronev's were moving out of town (they never questioned the hand writing, thank God), Leon had kept all of his money in the house, which would last him food for a few years. As for shopping, he would go as little as possible and when he did, late at night when there was only Amy working, a bored older teen who never got suspicious of anything. Hershel/Theodore/Someone spent every possible moment researching everything Azran, which took him about three days as he discovered that very little was known about the Azran. So instead he began to homeschool himself, which he did very well, as he had nothing else to do and there was an abundance of resources in the house. This was a good time for him, he could just get on with his work and never have to worry about the future, not that he expected it to last, but it did last a lot longer than he expected…

He had hidden his existence so well that it was about six months before people realised something wasn't right, by which time he had taken his education several years beyond his age. It just happened to be the day that he had knocked over a photo of his family and smashed the glass, he was later to be grateful for this. The Landlord and a few villagers came to the house expecting to just remove the furniture that the Bronev's had left behind, and instead found the sobbing young boy on the stairs, hugging a photo frame smashed in such a way that it was impossible to see the photo. When a young women tried to get the boy to tell her who he was, he stared at her so wildly that she asked if he even remembered who he was. Hershel/Theodore/Someone saw this as his ticket out of having to explain the truth, and sobbed harder, saying he had no idea who he was or where he was or what even had happened the night before. It was decided that, since nearby people had suspected activity in the house, there must have been some gang that had kidnapped the boy and made the house their base, but had recently left and had done something to the boy to stop his memory coming back. This was absolute rubbish, of course, but it made the front cover of every news paper. No one came forward to collect their missing son, and anyone who would have known him as Hershel Bronev didn't recognise him, as he had gone six months without a hair cut, new clothes or even a wash (he hadn't wanted anything to show up as bills). His supposed memory loss didn't show any sign of going away, so in the end he was adopted, and renamed Desmond Jarell Sycamore.

The next years washed over his head with him barely noticing. After finishing school he started looking high and low for Targent, his plan was to become a member and to destroy them from the inside, but he found nothing. Three years later he was still searching, he cared for nothing else. He ended up losing his friends, his family, he couldn't hold a job and he was on the verge of becoming homeless, when something quite extraordinary happened…

Desmonds last job of this era in his life was at a fish and chip shop. He has being shouted at by his boss for being generally rubbish. Desmond groaned, it wasn't his fault he had a hangover, and for that matter it wasn't his fault he had a drinking problem. He was feeling so tired and groggy he didn't even notice the girl come in and stare at him for a minute.

"Excuse me sir." Desmond turned to the girl as she spoke, she was only a bit shorter than himself (making her taller than most) but her almost childish expression made her seem shorter somehow, her hair was tied in a loose bun with strands falling around her face, it was that shade that was not quite light blonde but definitely not brown, and too pretty to be called mousey. Her eyes were a greenish-brown and were frowning. Most of these details Desmond didn't even notice, although he couldn't take his eyes off her. She was stunningly beautiful.

"I do hope I'm not interrupting anything," she said, innocently. "But I do wish you would stop shouting at your employee."

"Apologies, miss," said his boss, nodding to the customer. "I'll take this mah'er into the office."

"Oh no!" She pleaded. "I was thinking more on his behalf, you see. He seems rather unwell." Desmond gave her a grateful smile, the boss laughed.

"That'll be 'cause he probably got 'imself dead drunk again last night." The girl frowned some more.

"So this has happened before?" She asked, the boss nodded.

"Most days now." He said, leaning on the counter.

"Oh dear, I don't believe these are hangovers at all!" She gasped. "I think this young man may have a severe case of…" She quickly glanced at the menu on the wall. "... Batteredcodaronia."

"Ba'eredcodaronia?" The boss scratched his head. "You gotta be pullin' my leg."

The girl sighed wistfully. "That's exactly what my brother's manager said he tried to explain his illness, and do you know what? The very same day he collapsed and landed face first in a pizza, the cheese burned him! The manager was sued!" Desmond smiled as she said this, the way she sounded so innocent and concerned had made such a daft story work! The boss had turned quite pale.

"Ur, well, of course we wouldn't want any harm to come to our workers." He clapped Desmond on the shoulder. "You, ur, you take it easy for a few days, lad."

"I'll take him home, sir." The girl offered. When they were a safe distance from the shop, Desmond turn to face his savior.

"Battered-cod-aronia," he said, disbelievingly. "You were lucky you pulled that one off!"

"Correction." She said sternly. "_You're_ lucky I pulled it off, Desmond." He sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, you can see my badge." He pulled off his work badge as he said this. The girl giggled.

"Do you get that a lot then?"

"Yep, I think the best one was when some kid, who obviously read nothing but spy fiction, came in and said 'Tell your leader I want a jumbo sausage and chips, or he won't get the money. I'll be waiting here for you, Mr Sycamore.' I think you should be banned from trying an american accent if you can't do them." She laughed at this.

"Fair enough." She said, and held out her hand. "I'm Layla, by the way." Desmond blushed and shook the hand.

"Right, well, thank you so much, for what you did, and if there's anything I can do in return, just let me know."

"Well, there is one thing you could do…" He raised an eyebrow, Layla had a twinkle in her eye as she spoke. "... Didn't I mention my brother worked in a pizza restaurant?"

With Layla by his side, Desmond managed to clean up his life. His drinking problem had not been too severe and Layla helped him out of it. She also convinced him to go to university. After 5 years of knowing her, he decided something huge…

He was going to stop looking for Targent and lead a normal life. Not long after this decision he proposed to Layla. They were married and bought a large house. For the first time in 18 years he loved everything about his life, he had good job, a lot of money and the best wife he could imagine. He thought he couldn't be happier, at least, that was until he got home on day and Layla told him the news…

He was going to be a father. A father! Him? A father! There was no end to couple's excitement, they started decorating a room, picking their favourite baby names and finding their old toys. Desmond bought Layla a round locket, on one side was a picture of the two on the day they found out about their child, on the other and small note reading 'Layla and Desmond Sycamore, soon-to-be parents!', it was a glorious time. However, one month later, a knock on the door changed everything...

**So, who's at the door? By the way whoever can guess why I gave Sycamore that middle name gets a million amazingness points!**


	16. Chapter 16: The Death of a Child P2

**Hello guys! Sooooo This was supposed to be one short chapter, but has turned into THREE LONG CHAPTERS! I promise next chapter is the last on Sycamore's past life, but I hope you enjoy this one! (Warning: slight swearing)  
**

Chapter 16: The Death of a Child and the Birth of a Criminal Part 2

Desmond was just finishing off some work in the drawing room when he heard a knock at the door. He got up to answer it, yawning as he went. He opened the door to find an older looking man standing there.

"Good afternoon, Mr Sycamore." Said the stranger in a very Scottish accent. "Would you be so kind as to tell me if your wife is home?"

"No," Desmond replied somewhat defensively. "Why? Do you need to speak to her?"

"No, sir, I need to speak with yourself," he said, grimly. "And it would be better if she weren't here."

Desmond began to shut the door. "Look, I'm sure this is important, but I have a lot of work-" as the door was closing the visitor wedged it open with his boot.

"This _is_ Important!" He hissed. "I must speak with you, Hershel Bronev…" These words caused a chill to rise up Desmond's spine, he began to feel very sick. How could he know? He had never told anyone, not even Layla.

"I- I think you had better come in." Said Desmond, shakily. The man came in and brushed off his boots on the door mat, Desmond showed him to the drawing room. "My wife will be another hour or so yet." He informed the stranger. "I'll just make some tea." The man nodded and Desmond left for the kitchen. He put the kettle on and, as he waited for it to boil, squatted down to reach one of the lower cupboards which had a lock on it. As far as anyone but Desmond knew the only reason for this lock was so that when they had a baby crawling around it wouldn't be able to hurt itself with the cleaning equipment and mouse traps, but there was something else in there which Desmond had always felt it was necessary to own. He lifted a panel from the bottom of the cupboard and retrieved a loaded pistol from it. He finished the tea and loaded the everything onto a tray, then took it into the drawing, the pistol in the inside of his coat pocket.

"Ah, thank you Mr Sycamore." The visitor poured himself some tea, Desmond followed suit. "I suppose you'll want to know my side of the story, so here's everything I have to say." He rested his hands on his lap, and began his tale.

"When Leon and Rachel Bronev were taken into Targent's care, at first they refused to work for them, so they were held captive until they would. A year or so later Rachel fell fatally ill and past away…"

"W-what!?" Desmond choked, even after giving up on his search for Targent, he had always kind of hoped to see his parents again, but now…"

"Apologies, I should have broken the news gentler."

"No, don't worry about it." Desmond stammered, the man continued.

"Shortly after her death, Leon agreed to work with Targent," Desmond gave a small gasp and clenched his fists. "But on one condition; The Bronevs had been given no information on what had happened to you and your brother, they didn't even know if you were in Targent captivity as well. Leon agreed to work with Targent if they found where you were and what had happened to you. This was harder than expected due to your separation and name changes, but you were found in the end. Mr Bronev asked for your lives to be closely monitored, so that he could keep an eye on ya and make sure your weren't making a mess of yourselves."

Desmond was horrified to discover he had been watched all this time, but at the same time something else made him even angrier. "He can't have been watching for very long." He mumbled, reflecting on his drinking problem, which had admittedly started in his late teens.

"Aye, ya right there." Said the man, grimly. "He became engrossed in his work, and began to reflect the greed of the rest of the organisation. He stopped caring 'bout his sons, and said so. Targent didn't use to be so bad, you know, but then a man called Marcus Rine became the leader, he was the one who started the kidnapping. He died but a few months ago so a new leader was elected, and this man could lap Marcus in evil and cruelty several times..." There was something in the look he gave Desmond now that made his blood run cold.

"L-Leon Bronev… I- is the new… Leader?" Desmond felt ready to collapse in shock and grief. Why? How could his own father betray him like this? Questions flew around his head like insects, but he chose what was possibly the most important one. "... H-how do you know all this?"

The man sighed rubbing his hands together. "This'll come as a nasty shock to ya," he said, sadly. "But… I am an ex-member of Targent." Desmond leapt from his seat and pulled out the pistol, pointing it at the man's head. He was panting and his heart was pounding in his chest, the visitor hadn't so much as flinched.

"Sycamore, I have little regard for my own life anymore, but if you could refrain from killing me for just-"

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF TARGENT TO LAST ME MUCH MORE THAN MY OWN LIFE TIME!" Desmond shouted, the pistol shaking in his hand. "KEEP YOURSELF AND YOUR DAMN ORGANISATION AWAY FROM ME AND MY FAMILY!"

"I'm pretty sure I said EX- member." said the man in an angry tone, but keeping his cool. "I am here because I can help you get your revenge."

"I DON'T WANT REVENGE ANYMORE!" Tears were rolling down Desmond's cheeks now. The man rose now.

"THEN LOOK AT IT THIS WAY!" He shouted back at him. "WITH BRONEV AT THE HELM, TARGENT IS WELL ON THEIR WAY TO DESTROYING MANY MORE LIVES, WHICH COULD INCLUDE YOURS AGAIN! I ESCAPED BECAUSE I SAW WHAT THEY WERE BECOMING, WHAT _WE_ WERE BECOMING! YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN HELP ME STOP THEM, SYCAMORE!" There was dead silence now, only disrupted by the ticking of the clock on the mantlepiece. Slowly, Desmond lowered the pistol and dropped it.

"What do you propose we do then?" Desmond gulped. "Two people against an organisation? You had better have some idea what we're doing."

"Indeed I do." The man replied, as they both took a seat. "Here is what I have in mind; the whole point of Targent is to find the Azran Legacy."

"The Azran what?" Desmond had researched every known piece of evidence for the Azran, and had never come across this.

"It is believed that the Azran left something behind, something for us to find. Targent's purpose is to find this legacy." the man continued. "If I know the Azran, it would be just as easy for a small group to find the legacy as it would be a whole organisation. If we can beat Targent to their goal, they will crumble at their very foundations." He leaned forward. "So? Will you help me?"

Desmond was still in stunned silence. "But, why me?"

"You have the motive," he replied. "The skills, the funding, there's only one problem with you, and that is that Targent are fully aware of your existence, they will also be on the hunt for me, but that just means we'll have to be careful." Desmond was about to reply when he heard the front door, he quickly kicked the pistol under the sofa.

"Hello!" Said the ecstatic Layla, entering the drawing room, then "Oh! Who's this?". The man rose from his seat and shook Layla's hand.

"Good afternoon, Mrs Sycamore, my name is Raymond." The now named visitor greeted her. "I'm an old friend of Mr Sycamore."

"Oh, you didn't tell me you were having visitors!" Layla smiled at her husband as she said this.

"I… Didn't know he was coming." Desmond replied, plainly.

"I was passing this area looking for work and I thought I'd drop by." Raymond explained.

"And I offered him a job here, if you're alright with that, Layla." Desmond filled in. This was kind of code to Raymond, saying he would help him, some how Raymond got the message. Layla looked a bit confused.

"But, we don't have jobs to offer." Said Layla, sadly.

"Well, miss, I have been trained as a butler." Raymond said quickly. Layla's face lit up.

"Oh! A butler! That does sound fancy!" She said excitedly. "Well, in that case I have no objection!" Both Desmond and Raymond wanted to sigh with relief. Raymond turned and gave Desmond a wink, which was returned with a feeble smile. Desmond was not yet sure whether he trusted Raymond or not, but little did he know that this was the beginning of a long and great friendship, and the beginning of one of the greatest tragedies in his life...

**And that, my friends, is how I think Sycamore and Raymond met! Thanks for reading, don't forget to review (I'm getting better at replying to reviews) And I'll see ya all next time! **


	17. Chapter 17: The Death of a Child P3

**Here is the final chapter on Desmond's past (prepare your tissues) hope you like it!**

Chapter 17: The Death of a Child and the Birth of a Criminal Part 3

Raymond and Desmond began their search for the Azran Legacy. They started by investigating myths and legends (which was where Targent were starting to look, according to Raymond). They found legends that may have been Azran, then tried to work out where they were set. Once they had a location Desmond would travel there searching for evidence to support the legend, and would tell Layla he was on a business trip. He tried as hard as he could to keep Layla separate from his revenge and still make time for her and his job. This was much harder than he thought it would be, and a month after he met Raymond, he quit his job. Layla got very suspicious and tried to get Desmond to tell her what he was up to, but he wouldn't say. One day, Desmond came home from a 'business trip' with some great news.

"Welcome home, master."

"Oh, please Raymond, call me Desmond!" He guessed that this made Raymond smile, but he couldn't be 100% sure due to his facial hair.

"Aye, sorry sir, but I'm really getting into this butler business."

"Well, if it makes you happy." Desmond hung up his coat. "Is Layla home?"

"No, sir," Raymond informed him. "She went out a few hours ago for her scan."

Desmond stared at him in bewilderment, then smacked himself in the forehead. "Gah! I forgot about the baby scan! Why didn't she remind me? I wouldn't have gone otherwise!" he reached for his coat, when Raymond stopped him.

"She'll be well on her back by now, there's not much point going." Desmond just stood still for a while, then sighed.

"I can't believe I forgot…" He mumble to himself.

"Don't worry ya self on it now." Raymond reassured him. "... How was the trip?"

Desmond smiled. "Very good. This is definitely the place we're looking for. There's rumours about a specter's flute actually existing, plus…" He leaned forward and said in a hushed tone. "I have reason to believe this town also holds the key to the Golden Garden." Just then the front door opened behind him and Layla walked in, she had a good bit bit of bump now and looked very tired. Desmond turned to her, looking worried and sorry. "Layla, I…" He tried to apologies, Layla gave a weary smile and shook her head.

"It's fine, don't worry about it." she told him. Desmond bit his lip, then embraced her, he would have to make sure nothing like this happened again…

Soon Raymond and Desmond were sure that something Azran was hidden in Misthallery, a town in the country near London. Desmond decided that if the Golden Garden did exist, it had probably been buried over time; but seeing as they couldn't start a dig site there without alerting Targent, they would have to do it in secret, which meant they would have to get their own equipment. Over the next few months Raymond taught Desmond the basics of mechanics which, being a quick learner, didn't take long and soon was building his own prototype machines in the basement. Desmond began to neglect Layla more and more without even noticing, he rarely commented on the baby's growth.

Raymond had managed to get in touch with some other Anti-Targant groups and proposed that they all join into one, with Desmond as the leader…

"I can't be a leader!" He protested. "I've never so much as headed a school project, let alone an organisation!"

"Master, this is the very reason I came to find you," Raymond argued. "I was one of the people told to monitor you, I know you can do this."

"But, what if they find out I'm Bronev's son? They'd think I'm a traitor!"

Raymond lifted an eyebrow. "Hmm, that's true, in that case ya may have to use a different name and appearance amongst these people. It may also help protect your wife. perhaps try to make an anagram of ya name, but ya may have to lose a few letters."

"But…" Desmond tried to think of something, anything, but gave in. "Alright, I'll try."

Raymond grinned. "Thank you, master. The others were planning a meeting this week but I told them you-"

"I'll go." Desmond interrupted, Raymond looked shocked.

"Are ya sure?"

"Positive…"

Desmond was packing a bag for the weekend of the meeting, Layla walked in, looking deeply offended.

"Raymond says you're away this weekend…" She said sadly.

"This is correct." Desmond replied, not even turning to look at her.

"Please don't go." Now he turn, looking at her solemnly as she said this. "The baby is a week late, it could happen anytime now."

"I know," he said, turning back to his suit case. "But, this is important."

"WHAT!?"

"No, that's not what I meant!"

Layla was horrified. "Are you telling me that, whatever this is, it's more important than your child?! More important than me?"

"Of course not," he replied, locking up the suitcase. "But if I can just get this thing started, perhaps it will keep going on its own." He put his hands on his wife's shoulders and smiled sadly. "Then I'll have time for you two."

Layla stepped back, shaking her head. "Desmond, this isn't the life I want our child to have…" She looked back up at him, tears were forming in her eyes. "And what about those things in the basement?"

"Huh?" Now Desmond stepped back in shock. "You went in the basement? I told you not to!"

"EXACTLY!" Layla began to sob. "Don't you realise they could KILL someone?! What if the baby got down there, or if one exploded!"

"They won't explode!" Desmond shouted. "And the basement is locked, There's no way it could… Look, I'll get rid of them soon."

"Soon isn't good enough!" Layla cried, her face in her hands. Desmond frowned.

"What? Do you expect me to do everything to your convenience?" He immediately regretted this, why would he say something like that?

"I expect you to keep this place child friendly!" She sat on the bed and continued to sob.

Desmond sighed. "Look, I have to go. Raymond and I are going to be back in a couple of days."

"Raymond is going too?" She stared at Desmond. "But what if I need help?"

"I don't know, ask your mum to stay over." He picked up his bag. "But I have to go." Layla sat there as the two got ready to leave, she sat there and listened to the open and close again.

"Right…" She said to herself. "That's that then…" 

Desmond and Raymond were stood on a train platform, their train was late and Desmond was getting impatient when…

"MR SYCAMORE!" Desmond turned to see a young boy running towards them, he recognised him as one of the kids that live on his street. The boy reached them and bent over double panting.

"Well? What is it? Speak, boy." Desmond said, angrily.

"It's *huff* It's your wife, sir!" The boy struggled to speak and breathe at the same time. "She's *huff* gone into labor!" Desmonds mouth dropped open and his eyes grew wide with shock. The world seemed to slow down. Raymond was trying to say something to him but all sound became one big blur. Then he heard the sharp sound of a whistle, he turned to see their train had just pulled in; how uninviting those doors looked now. In one swift movement Desmond shoved his suitcase into the boy's arms and ran to the exit. 

Desmond reached hospital and ran to the front desk. "My wife is here, Layla Sycamore, I need to see her!" The woman on the desk looked up at him without expression, then back at her computer and started to type painfully slowly.

"The Lily Ward, room 6." She said, not even bothering to look at him. Desmond nodded and dashed off.

He reached the Lily Ward and spoke to a much kinder woman who pointed in the right direction. "And congratulations!" She called after him, he smiled back and found the door. This was it, Desmond took a deep breath and knocked.

"Come in." His heart was racing, he was nervous, but turned the door knob and entered the room. There were no cries of pain, no wails of a baby, just a bed and some nurses changing the sheets.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry," Desmond stammered. "Wrong room, I guess."

"Mr Desmond Sycamore, I presume?" He turned to the man standing behind him, probably a doctor. He looked extremely sad, as did the nurses now Desmond had noticed.

"Yes.." He said anxiously. "Urr, could you tell me where Layla Sycamore is?"

"Please, step into my office a minute." Desmond followed the doctor to a small room full of files, with a desk and a chair either side of it. "Please, sit down." He said gently as he took his own seat, Desmond sat down. The doctor clasped his hands together and looked at him sorrowfully. "You know, a good percentage of the time births go completely according to plan. Rarely anyone dies, and it's even more rare for both mother and child to lose their lives, but it still happens, and I'm sorry." Desmond's expression didn't change, he knew full well what the doctor was trying to say, but he didn't believe it for a second.

"If this is your idea of a joke," he hissed. "It isn't funny."

"There are no jokes here, Desmond." The doctor replied. "Layla and your daughter are no longer of this world."

"YOU'RE LYING!" Desmond stood and ran out of the room into the hall. "LAYLA!" He was panicking so much he couldn't stop himself calling her name. He wanted - _needed _- a reply. "LAAAAYLA!" Someone came and lead him away, maybe the doctor, maybe someone else, he didn't care anymore. Soon he was in a room on his own, not really knowing how he got there. He huddled in a corner and began to weep. He reached into his pocket for a tissue, and felt something small and round. He pulled it out, it was the locket he bought for Layla, how had that got there? He flicked it open, it was a picture of him and Layla sat on the sofa on the day the discovered she was pregnant. Desmond began to cry again, kissing the photo over and over, how was he going to keep on living now?

The hospital decided to keep Desmond in over night. He was given a room but he didn't sleep, just curled up near the door staring at the locket. Later, when looking back on that night, he wasn't sure how long he had been awake or if he ever slept, but he could have sworn he saw a little boy, crying into a smashed photo. This little boy had just lost his family, and didn't know how to go on.

**So, there it is, Desmond didn't lose his family to Targent, but to a rare and tragic accident...**


	18. Chapter 18: The Third Heir

**SORRY THIS IS SO LATE! I've had a lot of distractions (new rabbits, new DS game etc) but there's the chapter you've all been waiting for! So, who is the Third Heir?  
**

Chapter 18: The Third Heir

"So, you see. Layton." Descole sighed. "There is no Third Heir to the Bronev bloodline."

"Thank you, Descole." Said the professor, a hand on his chin. "What you have just told me confirms my suspicions."

"What?!" Descole scowled. "Layton! The child is dead, the least you could do is respected that!"

"On the contrary." Layton began to pace. "Neither Layla or your daughter died that day."

"Huh?" Luke stammered. "So, there IS a Third Heir?"

"Indeed." The professor turned to Descole. "Here is my theory; Layla knew that the house was too dangerous for a young child, and that she wouldn't be able to pull you away from what you were getting yourself into. She faked her death and changed her name, so that she could escape with her daughter."

"But, why would she fake her death?" Flora inquired. "Couldn't she just leave?"

"Perhaps she was scared that Desmond would follow her or force her to stay, perhaps she wanted to cause him less pain." Layton frowned. "We may never know."

"But, how did you know she's still alive?" Luke asked.

"More on that later. But right now-"

"Where is she…" Descole growled. "Where is Layla?"

Layton pulled the brim of his hat over his eyes. "Unfortunately, Layla did die a few years later."

"Hu?" Descole stiffened. Layton began to pace again

"But before her death," he continued. "She remarried to a rich man, who made her and child very happy; he also died while the girl was still young. But, before his death, this man invested a large amount of money into making sure she would never feel alone."

"Wait…" Luke interrupted, he recognised this story. He gave a start. "Professor! You don't mean…"

"Yes, Luke." He said, grimly. "I believe you have reached the same conclusion as myself." He stopped, facing away from all the others. "Descole's long lost daughter, and the last key to opening this door…" He swung around, out stretching his arm. "Is non other than you!"

All were so silent you could have heard a pin drop in that room. Slowly, all eyes turned from Layton's pointing finger, onto Flora...


	19. Final Chapter: Three Drops of Red

Final Chapter: Three Drops of Red

Flora stood, panting, she looked as if her guardian had just accused her of murder. "W-what?" her eyes dropped to the floor, it was a mistake, it had be a mistake! She turn her gaze onto Luke, had he known about this? But one look at the boy's horrified expression told her otherwise, so, there were thing the professor didn't tell his trusty assistant.

Layton walked towards Flora, taking a small and aged book out of his pocket. "This is yours, my dear," he said, handing it to her. "It was left to you by your father, the one that brought you up, and I'm sure it will mean more to you than any amount treasure St Mystere has to offer."

"But, what is it?" Luke couldn't help himself from asking, despite the tenderness of the moment.

Flora stroked the leather cover of the book with her thumbs, she recognised this thing. She had just remembered it's identity when the professor turned and continued his story. "This is the late Baron's diary, Bruno gave it to me earlier. I have come across it before, but there were vital pages that I missed." He began to make his way over to the steel bowls. "It tells of his first meeting with Layla, or 'Viola' as she had renamed herself." Descole winced, there was no denying it now, countless times Layla had suggested Viola as a baby name because that was what she had always wanted to be called. "Later it says that Viola told Augustus that she had run away from her former husband, as he was creating contraptions that could seriously harm someone. She says that he was neglecting his family more and more." He reached the middle bowl and stroked the edge of it. "This is when I began to have my suspicions, so I made quick trip to London to gather more evidence. Sure enough, I found a file on Viola, which showed a record of changing her name from 'Layla Sycamore'." He turned to Descole. "So, do you need anymore evidence?" Descole had been listening in stunned silence, Layton didn't have any reason to lie, did he? His mouth quivered in shock, this couldn't be right, how could she have been there the entire time without him knowing…

And yet he had known, now that he thought about it, deep down he had known something. There were so many things Flora had said, so many gestures she had made that were just so… Layla…

"But… Papa…" Flora was looking at the book mournfully, tears were welling up in her eyes.

"Flora…"

"No!" She clutched the diary to her chest. "He isn't my Papa! He isn't my Papa! This!" She gripped the book tighter. "THIS was my…" Her voice trailed off and she began to sob, with low moans of "Oh, Papa…"

"Flora." She looked up as she felt the warm, reassuring hand of the professor land on her shoulder. He gave her a sad smile that comforted her no end. "Some people say it's the people that bring you up that are your real parents, and there's a lot of truth in that." He managed to look even sadder. "I should know."

Flora looked into those deep, brown eyes and instantly felt more sorry for the professor than she had ever felt for herself. He had been broken in so many places, so much had been taken from him. Arguably, her life looked similar, but he always picked up the pieces, always made it through without so much as batting an eyelid. How must it feel to wake every morning only to remember the long list of people you'll spend the day without? People always marveled at the professor's legendary intelligence, his fantasy-like-sword fighting, his master tea brewing skills, but the ability that was always over looked was how to keep on living when there's nothing to live for. It would keep on being over looked, there was nothing anyone could do about that, so Flora felt proud to be one of few that appreciated it.

In one moment, in one shish of a black cape, Flora disappeared from underneath his finger tips. "NO!" Luke cried disparagingly. In the time it took for Layton to turn around, Descole was standing by the bowls, one arm around Flora's neck, the other holding a sword. The ugly grin had returned to his face.

"Well done Layton, applause! Bravo! Whatever else you want, now let's get this thing open."

"No!" Flora protested, she pulled at his arm, only causing him to tighten his grip.

"Flora!" Luke charged at them. Descole pointed the sword at him so that the point lightly pressed on the boy's chin, preventing him coming any closer.

"Luke…" Flora gasped, her face as pale as a sheet. He returned her terrified expression, close to tears, he stepped back. Flora began to struggle and kick her legs.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Descole hissed. "I'm getting blood from you one way," he replaced the arm he that was holding her back with the sword, making her give a small 'yelp!'. "Or another."

"Let her go, Descole." Said the professor, sharply but calm. "She is to do this willingly or not at all." Descole hesitated, then sighed sadly, Layton had no means of stopping him doing whatever he liked with the girl, but it was easier not to have the argument. He let go and took a step back. No sooner had he removed the blade from her throat, Flora ran to the professor and wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder. He held her at arms length and looked at her solemnly. "Flora, you and you alone can help us unlock this mystery, but I will not," he shoot a sideways glance at Descole. "Have anyone make you do anything." Flora sniffed sadly, and nodded.

"I'll do it." She half whispered. She turned around and stood in front of the middle bowl (very cautious of Descole), took out the penknife she found in the study and flicked open the blade. She hesitated, not sure whether or she wanted to slice open her flesh, but then she saw Descole make a sudden moment in the corner of her eye and quickly cut across her thumb. The pain made her panic slightly, but she did her best not to let it show. She held her thumb over the bowl and let a few drops of blood fall into it. After a few moments, the bowl began the glow red, by this time Descole had already cut his hand with sword and deposited his blood into the bowl. Without even looking at him, Descole passed the sword to the professor, who followed suit before he could change his mind.

When all three bowls were glowing, the room began to shake and the whir of machinery could be heard behind the wall in front of them, suddenly it split down the middle and the halves began to separate. The grinding of stone against stone was so loud it drowned out the horrified gasps from the younger two. Flora began to back away in fear when the all too familiar hand of Descole gripped her by the shoulder making her freeze solid. "You're not going anywhere." He snarled. "Your place is here as much as it is mine, you are to see out until the end." Another hand was placed on her other shoulder, this time she looked up to see the professors friendly smile. Finally, a hand took her own, she looked over and saw Luke, his face stained with tears of fear, but still wearing a proud smile. She turned back to the wall in front of her, the was growing wider and wider.

This was it. By opening that door, she had just started something huge, and she would see it out to the end no matter what. After this, no more lies, no more secrets, no more 'it's for your own good'. It was time to face the truth, which was okay, because she wouldn't have to do it alone.

**Ok guys, that's the end of the story! Please review, follow, favourite and tell your friends! Until next time folks!**

**...**

**No it really is the end of the story.**

**...**

**You can keep scrolling all ya like there's no more story...**

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**Just kidding! I wouldn't do that to you guys! (Seriously, I hate books that end on major cliffhangers) Who'da thought it? This is actually the first of a trilogy! So, look out for ****Professor Layton and the Hall of Dreams!**


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